Meet “Carol”. Carol was concerned about the appearance of her front teeth. She had previous bonding in the past which had stained and chipped. The two lateral incisors are also dark when compared to the other teeth. 

In order to improve Carol’s smile, we needed to mask the darkness of the lateral incisors and lengthen them in order to achieve pleasing proportions. The two front teeth also had to be narrowed very slightly in order to balance the smile. With the changes needed in the colour and shape of the teeth, in addition to the fact that the teeth already had bonding that was failing, I decided that veneers were the best treatment option for Carol. 

How do I determine the correct proportions? Before we started any treatment, I took a series of photographs and study models in order to plan Carol’s treatment.  I then let Carol try out the proposed changes with temporary veneers. 

Temporary veneers are a very important part of the treatment because they allow me to fine tune the way the future veneers will look, feel and function during speaking and chewing. The front teeth have a very precise position in the mouth in order to look and feel good and the temporary veneers help me determine that position. 

The picture of the veneers is a few years after the original picture was taken. Carol has been speaking, chewing and smiling with these veneers for some time now. I wonder if Carol realizes how much she makes me smile when she comes in for her cleanings?